


Maybe

by aprxlshowers



Series: Klance AU Month 2021 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AKA making out in a cupboard, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Barista Lance (Voltron), Coffee Shops, Delivery Person Keith (Voltron), Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Keith with guyliner, Keith with piercings, Klance AU Month, Klance AU Month 2021, Klance au, Lance with wavy hair, M/M, Pining Lance (Voltron), Red is a van, adam/shiro wedding, bc why not, he delivers coffee beans, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29978268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprxlshowers/pseuds/aprxlshowers
Summary: “Morning, Lance.” Keith nods to him, a small smile on his face. He looks unfairly gorgeous, as per usual, for the early morning in his purple work polo. His long hair is tucked behind his ears, his helix piercings on full display, and his subtle eyeliner bringing out his dark eyes in a veryunsubtleway. Lance focuses his gaze elsewhere, peering out at Keith's van.“You need some help?”“Not really,” Keith admits, “But I’m guessing you want to anyway.”“Maybe.” Lance laughs, brushing past Keith on his way down the steps to the bright red van. He’d made a lot of jabs at Keith’s hilarious mode of transport in the past, revelling in the way he got defensive. There was no harm in doing it again.“Do you ever get asked to deliver parcels?” Lance glances back at him. “Because you literally look like Postman Pat driving this, dude.”Keith frowns instantly and Lance inwardly applauds himself for still being able to get under his skin after all this time. “I hate you.”“You don’t,” Lance replies immediately, used to Keith’s dramatics when it comes toRed. “I’m a wonderful person. It is impossible to hate me.”“Yeah, okay.”{further summary in the notes}
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Klance AU Month 2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171406
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82





	Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> klance au month  
> day 22 - coffee shop au (one of my fav aus call me basic idc)  
> lance works at 'altea cafe' and he has a crush on their cute coffee-bean-deliverer keith  
> FYI: they're in a (sort of) small space for part of it  
> stay safe lovelies <3
> 
> i have reached a new low: writing klance au month content in the following month. i'm really proud of this one though, so hopefully you guys like it!!
> 
> happy reading :)

_early februrary_

Altea Cafe stands on a corner, a few blocks from the university’s science campus. Every year, it hires students from the university to work shifts. Lance is one of those lucky few. Allura manages, Hunk bakes and Lance makes coffee. He’s damn good at it too. 

He’s also in charge of handling the monthly deliveries from their suppliers. Since most of his classes start in the afternoon, he’s always around to pick up their materials in the early hours of the day before they open. 

There’s a sharp rap, three individual knocks, against the back door and Lance smiles to himself, already halfway there. He adjusts his blue cap and swings the door open to reveal their coffee bean deliverer.

“Hey, mullet,” he greets, “Punctual as always.”

“Morning, Lance.” Keith nods to him, a small smile on his face. He looks unfairly gorgeous, as per usual, for the early morning in his purple work polo. His long hair is tucked behind his ears, his helix piercings on full display, and his subtle eyeliner bringing out his dark eyes in a very _unsubtle_ way. Lance focuses his gaze elsewhere, peering out at Keith's van.

“You need some help?”

“Not really,” Keith admits, “But I’m guessing you want to anyway.”

“Maybe.” Lance laughs, brushing past Keith on his way down the steps to the bright red van. He’d made a lot of jabs at Keith’s hilarious mode of transport in the past, revelling in the way he got defensive. There was no harm in doing it again.

“Do you ever get asked to deliver parcels?” Lance glances back at him. “Because you literally look like Postman Pat driving this, dude.”

Keith frowns instantly and Lance inwardly applauds himself for still being able to get under his skin after all this time. “I hate you.”

“You don’t,” Lance replies immediately, used to Keith’s dramatics when it comes to _Red_. “I’m a wonderful person. It is impossible to hate me.”

“Yeah, okay.” Keith rolls his eyes. He joins Lance by the boot of his van and picks up one of the bags. Lance pointedly looks the other way, knowing the cafe really can’t afford to have kilograms upon kilograms of coffee beans on the floor due to Lance’s brain malfunctioning. Lance doubts Allura would accept ‘Keith’s biceps’ as a reasonable explanation. 

They take a few trips, making conversation and depositing the huge bags in their storage cupboard - the one with the dodgy lock. Lance tries to get as much out of their short interaction as he can, talking about his nephew’s ballet performance and soaking in any information Keith gives him about his own life, which wasn’t much. Lance had fallen into silence a few times in the past, scared he was being too much but Keith had coaxed him back into the conversation by asking various questions. Lance had realised that it wasn’t that he was overbearing, it was just Keith liked to listen more than talk, unless he had something specific to say. Another thing Lance had added to his mental list on their attractive coffee bean deliverer. 

All too soon, Keith has to go. Lance leans against the doorway, watching him walk away, definitely _not_ staring at his ass.

“Will you be around again soon?”

“Well, I don’t think so. I only deliver to you guys once a month,” Keith says, all matter of fact, a hand on his hip. Lance asks this every time he leaves and the answer is always down the same lines as this. He pushes down the surge of disappointment in his stomach.

“Well, if you’re ever in the area, I’d be happy to show you what Altea Cafe actually does with these beans of yours.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Is all Keith says, face out of view, tone nondescript. He opens the van door and hauls himself into the driver’s seat, sending Lance one last smile. Lance waves to him and lets out a sigh as the van fades into the distance, the disappearing company sticker mocking him. They never say goodbye, knowing they’ll see each other again in an entire month’s time. Or so Lance thinks.

-

A week later, Lance is on his lunch break when Hunk slides his head through the door. His headband is slightly askew and he glances at something in the cafe back to Lance.

“Hey, buddy?”

“Yeah?” Lance looks up at him with a mouthful of sandwich. 

Hunk gestures behind him to the counter. “I know you’re on your break but I think you’d be best to take this order.”

Grumbling, Lance swallows the rest of his sandwich, picks up his cap and pulls it over his hair halfway through the door. Surely they’re not overcrowded, it’s not the rush hour yet. He looks up and his entire body freezes, his eyes narrowing in confusion. Is his mind playing tricks on him?

Apparently not because Keith is standing there at the counter, flesh and blood, the epitome of coolness. Lance notes that he’s not in his work clothes but, instead, a tight red t-shirt and a leather jacket. His signature mullet is pulled up, out of his face. _Jesus Christ_.

Lance sucks in a breath and approaches the counter hesitantly. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Keith replies, smirking. Before Lance can ask he adds, “I was in the neighbourhood, thought I’d pop in.”

“Huh.” Lance tilts his head, scanning Keith’s face. “You want a drink? I’m on my break right now but I’ll make you one and we could… catch up? Unless you have somewhere to be.”

“That would be great, actually.” Keith leans forward on the counter. “And I don’t have anywhere to be. I’ll stay as long as you want.”

Lance flushes, not expecting that, and busies himself with the register. His voice is strained. “Cool. What would you like?”

“A black coffee is fine.”

Lance gapes at him, all confusion and nerves dissipating instantly. “A black coffee? You’re asking me, with my months of training, years of experience, to make you a black coffee?”

“Yes?” Keith’s expression is one of both confusion and slight amusement. 

Lance huffs. “Fine. This is going to be the best damn black coffee you’ve ever tasted.”

He makes the order with probably more performance factor than needed but, although he’s been chatting with Keith once a month for almost a year, he wants to impress him. This is the first time they’ve spoken outside their usual, work routine. For good measure, he scribbles ‘mullet headed coffee man’ on the cup and slides it across the counter to Keith, who rolls his eyes when he spots the name.

“It’s not--”

“It is, you’re just in denial,” Lance interrupts, shutting the topic of Keith's hair down. They’ve had this conversation too many times and he isn’t about to waste precious time bringing it back up.

“Right,” Keith says, unconvinced, and fishes into his pocket, producing some notes. Lance’s eyes widen and he immediately pushes the money away, ignoring how warm Keith’s hand is against his own. 

“On the house.”

“Thanks,” Keith says before shoving all the notes in the tip jar and turning away from Lance before he can protest. He seats himself at a table by the window and looks up at him expectantly. Lance scowls but makes his way out from behind the counter, grabbing two muffins en route. 

He slumps down in the chair across from Keith who watches him with a silent smile on his face. 

“You like your coffee?”

“Oh.” Keith seems to remember he’s holding it and snaps his eyes away from Lance. He takes a huge swig from the cup and slams it down, fanning his mouth. His voice is strained, “That’s good.”

“Hot?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

Lance chuckles at him, passing over a muffin. It’s one of Hunk’s ‘new and improved’ recipes - the sweetest blueberry muffins Lance has literally ever tasted. Keith seems to agree, staring at the muffin with wide eyes after he takes his first bite.

“These are incredible.”

Lance smiles widely. “Yeah, Hunk made them. That man has talents abound.”

“What about you?” Keith watches him over the top of his coffee. “Apart from making really good coffee, thanks by the way, what are you good at? What do you study?”

“Okay, first off,” Lance starts, taking his cap off and running a hand through his wavy hair. Keith’s gaze flickers to the movement. “What I’m good at and what I’m studying do _not_ overlap. I study physics and astronomy at Altea but I’m on the brink of failing. Turns out I am _really_ good, though, at procrastination, so...”

“Ah.” Keith nods, an amused smile working its way onto his face. “Well, do you do anything outside of this and school?”

“I mean, I’m on a swim team. I’m pretty good at that, I guess?”

Keith seems to soak this in. “I don’t know how to swim. Moved around foster families a lot so they never thought it was worth it.”

Lance gapes at the new information. Keith looked slightly awkward, obviously preparing for the usual response which probably involves lots of apologies and pity. Lance takes a different route, determined to break the tension. 

“You can’t swim?” He cradles his face in his palms, elbows on the table, leaning towards Keith a little more. “Maybe I could teach you at some point?”

Keith's expression evens out into a relieved smile and _god_ if that doesn’t make Lance’s stomach flip. “Sure, maybe.”

“I’m holding you to that, mullet.” The image of Keith in swim trunks appears unhelpfully in Lance’s brain and he leans away again, asking the same questions to Keith. As he gets his answers, he adds the following points to his mental list:

1\. Keith had been studying engineering at Marmora University, Altea’s rival school, but was expelled after a ‘discipline issue’

“Care to expand?”

Keith levelled him with a _look_. “No I do not care, Lance.”

“Alright.” He’d get it out of him eventually.

2\. He had an adoptive brother called Shiro who was engaged to someone called Adam and their wedding was in two months

“I’m the best man.”

“Well you’re the best, man, so I’m not surprised,” Lance jokes.

Keith rolls his eyes and fakes throwing coffee on him. Lance doesn’t even flinch, knowing Keith wouldn’t dare ruin his uniform. The blue polo brings out his eyes!

3\. He works at a bar during the night and does coffee deliveries all over the city

“Which job do you get hit on more often? Bar or coffee?”

“Um, none?”

“What?” Keith shrugs. Lance stares at him in shock. “But you’re--”

He pauses and Keith tilts his head curiously. “I’m what?”

“Nothing. Never mind,” Lance dismisses, mind still reeling from the fact Keith apparently didn’t know how hot he was? Lance knew he had nice eyes and good legs - surely Keith knew he had the body of a god.

4\. Lance likes him a whole lot more than he thought he did

When Lance’s free time eventually runs out, he reluctantly pulls his cap back over his waves and offers Keith a small smile. 

“I have to get back out there.”

“Okay.” Keith nods, rising from the table. “I’ll see you soon?”

Lance grins. “Maybe, yeah.”

Keith grins back, eyes sparkling as he leaves. Lance watches, a wave of sadness washing over as Keith sends him a two fingered salute before walking out the door, the bell tingling. It isn’t until Lance looks away that he sees money on the table. _For the muffins_. Lance huffs, smiling to himself.

_early march_

Lance hasn’t seen Keith again since that day. He isn’t sure if he did something wrong or if Keith is just busy. That’s what he chooses to tells himself as he wipes down the tables, ready to open up. He’s alone again this morning. Hunk and Allura will be arriving after their morning classes to help him handle the lunch rush.

He’s organising their machines behind the counter when he hears someone at the door. Three individual knocks. Lance freezes and wanders quickly to the cafe’s calendar and, sure enough, scribbled on today’s, in Allura’s swirly handwriting, is ‘bean delivery’. How could Lance lose track of the date when all he'd been thinking about was Keith?

Lance runs a hand through his hair. After talking to Keith, the pulse racing rush Lance gets whenever he thinks of him has only grown. He isn’t just a pretty face anymore - although he’s very much that too - but he has new depth that Lance hadn’t known before. He approaches the door and opens it tentatively.

Keith looks up at him, all dark eyes and hesitant quirks of lips. Lance sucks in a breath, plastering on his customer service smile.

“Hey, Keith.”

“Hi, Lance. Want to help me out?”

“Sure.”

Tension hangs in the air between them and, although Lance makes his occasional joke like usual and Keith laughs along easily, things feel _slightly_ out of place. Keith is currently recounting how Shiro’s wedding planner tells everyone the statistics for every little thing, and is the only person he’s ever seen truly get on Shiro’s nerves. Apparently, after a close call, he can’t be in the same room as Slav in case he breaks something.

Lance smiles widely. “I’ve never met Shiro but that sounds like something I’d pay to watch.”

-

They heave the final bags into the storage cupboard, placing them beside the others. Lance straightens up and turns around to find the door shut. He curses, reaching for the handle and groaning inwardly when he finds it won’t budge. Lance usually makes it a point to wedge it open but he guesses he just forgot. Keith is watching him in confusion, looking softer under the flickering filament bulb above them.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re trapped. Stuck. Locked in.”

“Oh.” Keith pauses and then pulls his phone out of his pocket, holding it out to Lance. “Do you know any of the other employees’ numbers? They could get us out from the other side, right?”

“Yeah, good plan. Thanks.” Lance takes the phone gratefully, thanking his past self for spending so long memorising Hunk’s phone number. He types out a quick message and then, without giving himself time to think, adds his number into Keith’s phone, swiping away from it before handing Keith his phone back. Only for emergencies of course.

Accepting that they’ll be there for a while, Lance slides down the wall to sit on top of one of the sacks of coffee beans. It’s not that comfortable but it’s better than the floor. Keith joins him, taking a seat opposite. There’s only a foot between them and Lance tries desperately to ignore that fact.

“Sorry for getting you trapped in here,” Lance says, quietly. “You’re going to be super behind on your deliveries."

“It’s okay, I’ve asked my mum if she can do them.” Keith shrugs. “Besides, there are worse people to be stuck with.”

Lance would obsess over the soft look Keith gives him if he hadn’t just got figurative whiplash. “Did you say _mum_? I thought you were in the foster system.”

“I was,” Keith confirms. “But my mum appeared on the radar again when I was nineteen. Didn’t really want to see her at first, understandable since I thought she had been dead for over ten years, but eventually I met her and she’s actually really cool.”

“So, wait-” Lance takes in the explanation. “She was working in the coffee bean delivery business the entire time? Why didn’t she come find you?”

_Why would someone want to leave you behind?_

“She did something else before that.” Keith shakes his head. “She thought she was leaving me with my dad and that it would all be fine. My dad died though, when I was ten, so off into the system I went.”

“Oh, Keith.” Lance sends him a sympathetic look. “I’m really sorry.”

Keith sighs but doesn’t seem upset. Just accepting. “It’s all good now. But thank you.”

There’s a sudden hiss from above them and, before Lance can even look up, the light above them goes out with a pop. There’s silence for a moment before he hears Keith curse under his breath and lets out a breathless laugh. Feeling braver in the dark, he reaches out a foot, nudging Keith’s boot with his trainer. Keith retaliates immediately, with a little more force. Soon enough, they’ve indulged in a full on battle. It’s childish, really, but how else are they supposed to pass time?

He and Keith are basically equal in height so the fight is pretty fair and, despite the lack of light, no serious injuries occur. Lance uses his long legs to his advantage and Keith probably puts his positively angelic biceps to good use. Eventually they wind up on the floor, wrestling like anger filled eight year olds - minus the fact they’re laughing like lunatics and not _really_ trying to hurt each other.

Lance pins Keith against the hard floor, breathing heavy and eyes wide, trying to make out Keith in the dark. All of a sudden a small light from Keith’s phone lights up and there is Keith, beneath him, partially lit in the light from his phone. His infamous mullet all dishevelled in such a hot way and Lance swallows, not realising just how suggestive their position could be if taken out of context. Or in. He leans back.

“No you don’t,” Keith mutters, slipping a hand on the back of his neck and leaning towards him so he can press their lips together. Lance immediately relaxes, swinging Keith’s leg around his waist so he can reciprocate. The tension in the air snaps around them, so forcefully that Lance almost hears it. Keith’s arms stretch out on his shoulders, resting there in such a casual manner it has Lance blushing. He pulls him closer into his lap.

A click.

“Hey, guys, sorry we’re-- oh…”

Lance jumps, sliding out from under Keith, who is frozen, and staring at Hunk. He and Allura stand in the doorway, looking at them, their expressions a mix of surprise and exasperation.

“Thank you for the coffee beans, Keith,” Allura says, snapping Keith from his reverie. He jumps to his feet, offering Lance a hand and pulling him up after him. They exit the cupboard like that, hands clasped, silent.

It isn’t until Keith lets go, walking out the door, that Lance speaks.

“So... that was fun.”

Keith pauses on the steps, face breaking into a smile as he looks back at him. “Yeah, it was. We should do it again sometime, maybe just not in a cupboard, though. Maybe on a date?”

“Maybe,” Lance smirks. “You have my number. Bye, Keith.”

He leaves Keith at the back door, looking confused. He’d figure it out eventually when he looked through his contact list.

_late april_

Lance straightens his blue tie, fixing his hair quickly in the hallway mirror. His suit jacket lies open and he shoves his hands in his pockets, nodding at his reflection. Three sharp raps at his door alert his attention and he opens it up quickly, all ready to bedazzle Keith with his new suit. Instead he is met, face to face, with a woman. She looks remarkably similar to the person he expected and it dawns on him that this is _Krolia_. Keith somehow thought it was a good idea to spring ‘meeting the parent’ on him without a warning.

“Hey,” he greets, trying to ignore the butterflies rising in stomach. “You must be Krolia. It’s great to meet you.”

“Likewise, Lance.” Her accent is something he can’t place but he dismisses it. “Keith sent me to collect you.”

“Oh, cool. Could he not park or…?” Lance’s eyes land on the empty parking bays through his apartment window.

Krolia shrugs. Her expression is weirdly similar to Keith’s. “Something about a first impression?”

Lance nods wordlessly, promising to himself he’ll get back at his boyfriend later, and grabs his overnight bag from the hallway floor.

When they reach Krolia’s car - Lance had convinced Keith not to show up in Red - he is greeted by a smirking Keith. Lance sends a glare at him over Krolia’s shoulder.

“Hey. I see you met my mother,” Keith observes.

“Yes, I did.” Lance nods, smiling, before ducking forward. “A heads up would have been nice, though. I’m dating her son, I want to make a good first impression.”

“You did, don’t worry,” Krolia says and Lance’s face flushes in embarrassment, not realising she could hear him. Keith smirks, leaning towards Lance who immediately rebuffs him.

“Nuh-uh, no kisses for you.”

Keith stares at him, attempting some botched version of puppy dog eyes. “But, babe-”

“Don’t _babe_ me,” Lance scolds but, as always, he gives in seconds later, capturing Keith lips with his own. A cough from Krolia is enough to have him put a good distance between them, though, and Keith laughs at him all the way to the wedding venue.

-

Keith makes it through his best man speech flawlessly and Lance feels like he might cry. So many nights of cuddles were sacrificed to hear Keith work himself into an anxious frenzy over his flashcards. Lance was always there, though, to make him a hot chocolate and calm him down. Funnily enough, although Keith likes his coffee black he has a secret sweet tooth that Lance doesn’t hesitate to use to his advantage when he wants something. 

After having some food, they stand, hand in hand, watching Adam and Shiro spin slowly around the floor. Lance had met the couple a few times on the lead up to the wedding but this is the first time he’d seen them fully relaxed. Organising a wedding was probably an extremely stressful task.

Lance doesn’t hesitate to pull Keith to the floor when it opens up to others and the song switches. He places Keith’s arms on his shoulders and circles his thumbs over Keith’s hip bones. 

“Lovely ceremony,” he comments, eyes never leaving Keith’s.

“Yeah,” his boyfriend replies, distracted. He doesn’t wait long before he’s pushing forward and kissing Lance once again. Ever since their make out session in the cupboard, they don't go long without pressing kisses to various points on each other’s faces. Neither of them refrain from the affection and that’s how they like it.

“Maybe this will be us, one day,” Keith mumbles and Lance can tell by the way his eyes widen that he didn’t mean for it to slip out in that way. 

Despite the fact they’ve only been dating for a month and a half, they’ve known each other much longer and Lance doesn’t think the suggestion is completely uncalled for. He presses another kiss to Keith’s cheek and then rests their foreheads together.

“Yeah,” he agrees softly. “Maybe.”

**Author's Note:**

> i love them so much  
> i feel like i way overused the word 'maybe' in this fic hence the name lol
> 
> also,, i'm trying to work on characterisation of the boys because i feel like i'm falling into patterns sometimes that don't really work with their character? idk? if you have any tips or any ideas feel free to comment or send an ask on my tumblr (king-of-nueva-york).
> 
> thank you for reading!! kudos/comments etc are much appreciated <3


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